The No. 23 University of Minnesota Duluth (9-1, 2-0 NSIC) volleyball team hosts Northern State and RV Jamestown in its home-opening weekend at Romano Gymnasium. The Bulldogs will face the Wolves Friday at 5 p.m., before taking on the Jimmies Saturday at 1 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast live on My9 Sports. 

LAST TIME OUT: UMD swept the University of Mary and Minot State to open NSIC play on the road last weekend. It hit .379 with 94 kills and only 16 errors over the six sets, while holding its opponents to a .056 hitting percentage with 51 kills. Madeline Guetzkow led the Bulldogs with 4.00 kills per set on .475 hitting, while also averaging 4.67 digs and 0.67 blocks per set. Elyse Karrels hit an NSIC-leading .563 on the week with nine kills and averaged 1.00 blocks per set.  

SCOUTING NORTHERN STATE: The Wolves are also coming off a 2-0 NSIC opening weekend after sweeping both Minnesota Crookston and MSU Moorhead last weekend. Ava Nilsson was named the NSIC Setter of the Week after leading the league with 14.50 assists per set over two matches, while Linnea Neshiem was tabbed the NSIC Offensive and AVCA National Player of the Week with 5.50 kills per set on .439 hitting. Neshiem leads the NSIC and ranks 21st nationally in kills per set (3.89), while Nilsson is both the league and NCAA Division II leader in assists per set (11.89). 

UMD VS. NORTHERN STATE
Series Record: 54-10
Last Meeting: Oct. 10, 2025 | UMD lost 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-13)
Streak: UMD, L5
Xada Johnson led the Bulldogs with 10 kills as UMD fell to the Wolves, 3-0, in the teams' last meeting in Aberdeen, S.D. Ava Jones had 26 assists and two service aces. UMD was playing without Paige Decker and had limited time from Madeline Guetzkow due to injuries. 

SCOUTING RV JAMESTOWN: The Jimmies are receiving votes in this week's AVCA/Taraflex Coaches Poll for the first time in program history after opening the season 9-1 overall and 2-0 in NSIC play. They opened league play with wins over MSU Moorhead and Minnesota Crookston last weekend. Gracie Adamson ranks third in the conference with 3.64 kills per set and ranks 11th with 3.52 digs per set. Sophie Ketterling leads the league with 5.55 digs per set.  

UMD VS. JAMESTOWN
Series Record: 1-0
Last Meeting: Oct. 11, 2025 | UMD won 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-20)
Streak: UMD, W1
Xada Johnson was the team leader with 13 kills as the Bulldogs swept the Jimmies on the road in the teams' only previous meeting. Kendra Behrens made her first career start in the contest, tallying five kills and one block. Ava Jones matched her career-best with four total blocks and dished out 32 assists and Madison Reed led all players with 17 digs. UMD was playing without Paige Decker and Madeline Guetzkow due to injuries. 

IN THE POLLS: UMD moved into the top-25 for the first time this season as it is ranked No. 23 in the Sept. 14 AVCA-Taraflex Division II Women's Volleyball Poll. The Bulldogs have been receiving votes all season, including 54 votes last week, before finally breaking into the top-25 with a 9-1 overall record. The Bulldogs last appeared in the Top 25 on Nov. 3, 2025, when they were ranked No. 25.

2K ASSISTS FOR JONES: Junior setter Ava Jones secured her 2,000th career assist in UMD's league sweep vs. UMary Sept. 11 on a kill by senior Paige Decker that gave the Bulldogs a 22-9 lead in the second set. Jones ranks No. 11 on UMD's career record chart with 2,054 career assists and needs 1,386 assists to surpass Madison Gordon (2019-2023) for the No. 10 spot on the list. 

CLOSING IN ON WIN 600: Head coach Jim Boos is in his 25th season at the helm of the UMD volleyball program and owns a 596-144 career record. He is four wins away from career win No. 600, which would make him just the 11th active NCAA Division II women's volleyball head coach to reach the milestone. Boos' .805 career winning percentage ranks fourth among active Division II head coaches.

SWEEPING INTO THE WEEKEND: UMD enters its first homestand having swept its last five opponents, including CSU-Pueblo, Adelphi, Florida Tech, UMary and Minot State. During the stretch, the Bulldogs hit .352, averaged 15.53 kills, 13.73 assists, 2.0 aces, 14.93 digs, 1.9 blocks and 19.43 points per set. They have also held their opponents to a .075 hitting percentage, 8.07 kills, 7.60 assists and 10.13 points per set. The last time the Maroon and Gold swept five in a row was in 2022 when it swept six-straight from Sept. 3-23.   

NSIC LEADER: UMD leads the NSIC in points per set with 18.72 and kills per set with 14.91 heading into its first matches at Romano Gym in 2026. It also ranks second in the league in opponent hitting percentage (.141), opponent assists (9.21), opponent kills (9.71) and opponent digs (12.50) and third in service aces (2.03). 

HOME OPENERS: Dating back to 2005, the Bulldogs are 18-2 in home-opening matches. The last time the Maroon and Gold lost a home-opener was in a five-set loss to then-No. 10 Concordia-St. Paul in 2024.

HOME SWEET ROMANO: Winning nearly 85 percent of all matches at Romano Gymnasium since 1977 (451-84 overall), UMD has gone undefeated at home 10 times, and has recorded double-digit victories in a season on 22 occasions, including 11-2 in 2025. The last time UMD was undefeated at home was in 2018 when it posted a perfect 13-0 record and won the NSIC Postseason Tournament. 

ACES WILD: Sophomore Brietta Tims ranks second in the league with 0.59 aces per set and 20 total service aces. She has recorded at least one ace in all 10 of UMD's matches, including a career-high five in the Bulldogs' win at Northern Michigan. Tims ranks 45th nationally in aces per set and 46th in total aces.